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Slash Keyboard develops a mobile input solution that integrates search and sharing directly into the typing experience. The core product is a smart keyboard for iOS and Android, allowing users to access and share content such as GIFs, videos, links, and contacts without navigating away from their current messaging application. It aims to streamline communication by embedding various functionalities, effectively acting as a mobile search engine and content hub within the keyboard interface.
The company was co-founded by Cem Kozinoglu, Nick Barr, and Bulent Sik, emerging around 2015. Their founding insight centered on the inefficiency and friction of constantly switching between applications to find and share information while communicating. Recognizing the mobile keyboard as a central touchpoint, they sought to eliminate these interruptions by consolidating essential sharing tools directly within the keyboard itself.
Slash Keyboard targets mobile users who frequently share diverse content and seek a more fluid, integrated communication workflow. Its primary users are those looking to enhance their texting and messaging experience with quick access to external information and media. The company’s vision is to make mobile sharing and content discovery effortless, seamlessly weaving external web services and personal media into the fabric of everyday digital conversations.
Slash Keyboard has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round.
Slash Keyboard has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Slash Keyboard is a mobile technology company that developed an innovative iOS and Android keyboard app functioning as an embedded search engine, enabling users to search and share rich media—like videos, GIFs, links, products, news, maps, and music—directly within messaging apps without switching applications[1][2][3][5]. Targeted at mobile messaging users, particularly on platforms like iMessage and Twitter, it solves the friction of app-switching during conversations by using a simple slash (/) command, such as "/youtube Drake" to instantly pull and share top results[1][2]. Early growth was strong, with over 5 million monthly searches on iOS by early 2016, and the app expanded to Android with multi-language support while participating in Techstars for acceleration[1][2][3].
Slash was founded around 2014 in New York City by CEO Cem Kozinoglu, a search engine veteran from Microsoft, and designer/co-founder Bulent Shik, whose clients included Yahoo, EA, Ford, and Pepsi[1]. Kozinoglu's passion for fixing "broken" mobile search drove the idea, leading him to code the entire backend himself; the keyboard emerged as the first distribution channel for a broader mobile search vision[1][3]. Launched in late 2015, it quickly gained traction: featured on Product Hunt (winning Product of the Year), App Store spotlight, and TechCrunch coverage after raising $1.3 million in seed funding, all while joining Techstars NYC '15[1][3].
Slash rode the 2015-2016 explosion in mobile messaging (e.g., iMessage dominance) and custom keyboards (like SwiftKey, Swype), timing perfectly with demand for rich media sharing in chats amid rising app fatigue[1][2]. Market forces like fragmented mobile search and the need for contextual, conversational tools favored it, positioning Slash as a "mobile search engine" pioneer rather than just a keyboard, influencing how apps integrate search[1][3]. By partnering with major services and accelerating via Techstars, it contributed to the ecosystem's shift toward embedded, frictionless discovery, though third-party iOS keyboard limitations (e.g., autocorrect) highlighted platform constraints[1][2][6].
Slash's keyboard cleverly disrupted mobile search entry, but its 2015-2016 momentum (funding, expansions, millions of searches) lacks public updates post-Android launch, suggesting possible pivots, acquisitions, or dormancy in a landscape now dominated by AI-integrated keyboards (e.g., Gboard, SwiftKey with Gemini) and native messaging features[1][2][3]. Next could involve reviving as a cross-app search layer amid conversational AI trends, or evolving into enterprise tools leveraging its backend tech. Its influence may grow indirectly, inspiring seamless search in modern apps, tying back to its core promise: fixing mobile search one slash at a time.
Slash Keyboard has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Slash Keyboard's investors include 2048 Ventures, ACME Capital, Baseline Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Curious Capital, DCM, Dunce Capital, Factorial, Founders Fund, IVP, Lakestar, Montage Ventures.
Slash Keyboard has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in December 2015.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2015 | $1.0M Seed | 2048 Ventures, ACME Capital, Baseline Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Curious Capital, DCM, Dunce Capital, Factorial, Founders Fund, IVP, Lakestar, Montage Ventures, RTP Ventures, Social Capital, Social Starts, Ulu Ventures, Amos Elliston, Jeff Seibert, Jihan Bowes-Little, Paul Sims, Rashaun Williams, Ron Suber, Sumon Sadhu, Tamim Mourad |